Lemmert

• Just like czl I do have seperate apps for each type of data I use. For example Ente for photos and Syncthing for keeping the documents folder of my devices synced up.
• It’s not something I really think about because my data sources are functionally disjoint. (e.g. I don’t have photos from my phone in my documents folder). The only exception is Ente, where I do keep a plaintext copy of the “shared with family” account to display some family photos on our digital photoframe. This also “answers” your next question.
• I don’t have anything set up for when an application stops support. I do however do look beforehand whether it’s possible to extract my data in a way I can migrate to another platform if need be. For example, some services like Ente offer an easy plaintext way to export/backup your data in directories mirroring your albums. That way I could easily head to Immich
• It hasn’t really. I usually do backups by keeping two copies of all my volumes. So running more services doesn’t really impact much of anything.

A sidenote on Nextcloud: it does use the same folder structure in its data volume as it presents to the user. So it’s fairly easy to manage, but you need to update the folder you made the change within the container for it to show up. When we used to keep photo’s synced up with Nextcloud, I could directly access that folder for the photoframe. Since Ente is e2ee I needed to duplicate data in that case

Oh that’s nice. I’ll give beeper a spin then as well, thanks! You too daytonah!

Oh don’t you need a Google account to get the apks on Aurora?

Mainly because it’s really difficult to make a Google account when they suspect you’re a bot.

A fair amount of smaller businesses in Belgium also primarily use Whatsapp.

A VM is difficult for me since I only have a spare quad core laptop from almost a decade ago. So I’m sceptical on whether it will be able to virtualise an OS on top. And the bridges are hosted on a Zimablade. So I have my doubts there as well. Though I can definitely give it a spin in my free time, you never know.

I do have my main computer where I do run VMs often, but I doubt my partner will be fine running that noisy thing overnight though.

Ideally I would be running an iMessage bridge like you’re suggesting. Unfortunately I don’t have time to get it to work on my iPhone since the maumium docs mention it’s possible, but haven’t made a guide for it.

I’ll definitely keep the VM thing in mind if I ever decide to replace the Zimablade. I doubt my family will let go of their Apple devices any time soon anyway.

Thanks, I’ve really been appreciating everyones ideas here!

Actually our setup isn’t that different. I do have everything running behind Mullvad, including my server with the bridge on it. I also have a seperate, rarely used phone number. I don’t have Whatsapp on my GOS device though

Yes, my family sent me important messages on Signal for the couple of months we used, but that was it. The issue lied with the other kinds of messages that I just didn’t receive anymore. I’m happy enough we got on a platform that is at the very least e2ee and where those other kinds chats still continue. Though I’m aware that metadata is being shared that wouldn’t be if we used Signal.

Haha. Yeah we have a seperate “memechat” for non-serious stuff (which went to iMessage in that Signal period) so I just have that one automatically muted on select hours of the day.

I do have a tablet I use as a glorified recipe book. So that might just do it. Thanks, you’ve been a huge help!

I actually mostly use Signal. I got my family to use Signal for a while, but they just ended up sending texts I did not strictly need to see on iMessage. Hence why we eventually settled on Whatsapp

By keeping it open 24/7 do you mean that the app is actively taking screen space or is an unclosed app in the background? I hadn’t actually thought of not swiping the app away after refreshing the timer. And yeah I was looking at OpenWA as well but that’s for businesses.

Yeah I thought about using it too. The two bridges are also developed by them. I wouldn’t have minded using their app instead, but I don’t have the Play Store on my phone (I’m on GOS). They don’t offer a regularly updated apk on their site like Whatsapp does either.

Still thanks for the suggestion though!

Should I bridge Whatsapp on Matrix? (Or alternatives to get on Whatsapp)

Heyhey everyone,

I am going to switch from my Synapse instance (back) to Continuwuity in a month. The main reason I’ve been using it is to chat with family who are only on Whatsapp and iMessage (Yes, I tried getting them someplace else. Whatsapp ended up being that other place). Though I’m also in groups on other Matrix instances.

The main annoyances I had with using the bridge until now are:

1. I need to open the app every two weeks on my second phone (which tends to get lost when I need it).
2. The time my server went out for a couple of days also made me unsure of self hosting a bridge. I don’t mind if I can’t see some support messages for a couple of days, but I do mind not being able to get texts from family.

Compared to just using the app it’s a difficult proposition. But on the other hand I don’t have anything proprietary installed on my phone and I’d like to keep it that way if possible.

There is technically a third option by hosting an iMessage bridge, but I don’t have a spare Mac. And while my second phone is an iPhone, there is no documentation on how to bridge via a 64-bit iPhone. In this case however, there would be no two weeks access requirement.

I’d love to hear you guys’ thoughts and maybe some other way to tackle this!

Cheers!

Edit: Thanks everyone for the help! I’ve heard some awesome suggestions. I opted to keep using the bridge. Apparently you don’t need to open the app to refresh the biweekly timer, just run it in the backgroud. I happen to have a device that is on more than often enough for Whatsapp to refresh that timer in te background.